Xotocl
by freakyanimegal
Summary: Lloyd impacted the ground, the cloth around his neck burning away as the exsphere in turn burned into his flesh. He let out a shout of pain as vien-like markings began to work their way across his body, the expshere glowing a strange violet light...hiatus
1. Katoxn

**Yes I know I have too many stories. And I know this one is…'interesting'. Even by my standards. However, I have a good feeling about it. The idea took off from a dream I had…which is pretty much the first few paragraphs. Yes I have f'ed up dreams.**

**Thanks to Symphoniafan for brainstorming this up with me! :D **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Katoxn**

Lloyd sighed, looking across the inn-room at the blank, unresponsive Colette. The blond chosen stood silently in the corner of the room, her normally bright blue eyes glazed dull red as she stared numbly out into space. He hated to see her like this, hated to see her reduced to a lifeless doll, a dead shadow of the true girl that he had been friends with all these years. With a frown he looked away, facing the door to the large room they had rented. The others said they would be back soon, they needed to get supplies, but since bringing Colette into town caused a bit of a stir, they decided it would be best to leave her there…with someone to watch out for her, of course. Lloyd volunteered, and the group promised to be quick, not wanting to be apart from two of their party for a very long period of time. However, it was taking them a little longer than Lloyd would have liked… With another loud sigh he turned to look at Colette, who stared blankly through him. He hated himself for this, for letting this happen, for letting her become this, but he was at a loss of what he could do. They would be heading to Sybak tomorrow, then maybe they could find out what was wrong with her…

His eyes caught sight of the Cruxis Crystal on her collar, the dull, now-gray stone that had previously shone red on her skin. It had something to do with the crystal, right? That's what Raine had said…

"Hm…" he bit his lip.

Hesitantly he approached the girl, his eyes on the gem at her neck. He leaned in close to examine the jewel, as if hoping he might be able to find out what it was doing. It wasn't as if he could, though, all he could see was it had changed color. The teen frowned and then slowly went to touch the dark crystal, thinking maybe something would happen if he poked it. He didn't truly expect for anything to happen, really, but happen something did.

"Ah-!"

He jerked his hand back, clutching the exsphere on it. The second his finger had come in contact with the crystal, his exsphere began to burn, like someone had stabbed him with a hot-piece of iron.

"G…guh…! What the-?!" he gasped.

He removed the exsphere from the key-crest, hoping that the pain would subside. It did, and he held it up to the light, shocked and a more than a little afraid.

"What the heck…?" he stared at the gem, holding it up so he could look at it.

A bright red-light flashed in the room, drawing his attention to the source. The Cruxis Crystal had began to blare a bright, alarming red color, Lloyd gaping at it in shock. Before he could try to wrap his mind around what was happening, the light seemed to concentrate on the gem in his hand, the blue exsphere flashing crimson as well before fading into a rich purple. It burn his fingers again and he dropped it, backing up as he saw that it did not fall to the ground, merely hovered in the air, much like the Cruxis Crystal had done when it first attached to Colette.

"W- What the hell-!?" he started, his eyes wide.

_You'll do fine._

He gasped, hearing the words resonate in his mind. It wasn't a voice, so much, as it was…just words. Like his own thoughts, except….more distinct, darker, more…powerful. He wasn't sure how to describe it, it was just like thinking, except it was like a train of words that were somehow foreign in his own head. There wasn't much more time to ponder it however, because- just as when Colette received the crystal- the stone seem to fly through the air towards him. He barely had time to gasp when the stone zoomed at him faster than he could see, impacting his own collar bone with such force he crashed onto the floor. He let out a scream as it burned into his flesh, the cloth of his jacket and undershirt quite literally burning as well, leaving a hole around that area marked by the singed edges of the fabric. The exsphere had set itself in the base of his neck, sinking into his skin like exspheres do on the victims of ranches. Brown markings of sorts began to spread out from the gem, creeping up his neck, down his chest, along the length of his shoulders, almost like veins, though they were not raised above his flesh at all. The teen's head throbbed violently, leaving him gasping for breath as his heart raced at speeds that shouldn't have been possible.

What was happening!? What was-?!

A large pulse went through his body before he fell limp, his breathing slowed as he lost the strength to keep his eyes open.

The purple gem gave off a strange glow, like that of a violet aurora, then faded back so it appeared to be nothing more than a colored rock.

**I have plans for this baby. BIG PLANS. And yes, this was pretty much the dream I had…I have weird dreams. Oh well, I still think it will be fun. (Smirk) **

**Review? O.O**

**And yes, the story-tile and chapter title are real words, just not English. I can't give away either meaning yet, as it will spoil the story, but the story-title is Aztec and the chapter title (I think) is Albanian...I remember what it means, just not the language XD**


	2. Andra

**Hm, well, apparently I secured some interest n.n**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**NOTE: Edits made. I made a very, very stupid mistake DX**

**Andra**

It was dark.

Why was it dark? Well…okay, it could have been because his eyes were closed, by why were they closed? Had he been sleeping? But he didn't remember falling asleep…he didn't remember resting at all… Wasn't he supposed to be watching Colette? Yeah, he was- Wait! He fell asleep when he was supposed to be-!? Argh! He was such an idiot! How could he-? No, no that wasn't it either…he hadn't fallen asleep. Then…then why was he laying here with his eyes closed?

And…this feeling…

"Lloyd!"

His eyes snapped open and he found himself laying on one of the room's beds, going to sit up when two hands were placed on his shoulders and gently pushed him back. Professor? Everyone was back; Raine, Genis, and the latest additions Zelos and Presea. Then there was Colette, still staring out blankly. He went to say something when he noted where all of their eyes were, locked on his collar-bone. Slowly he looked down as well, his eyes widening in horror.

There was an exsphere in his skin.

He looked at his hand, finding the stone was gone, coming to the conclusion that was the one attached to him. How had that happened?! What-?! None of this made sense!

"What the-?!" he started.

"Lloyd, calm down," Raine stated, her expression serious, "What happened?"

"Yeah!" Genis said. "We came in and you were unconscious and…and your exsphere was…"

A sudden surge of pain shot through Lloyd's head, a flash of- of something- and then nothing.

"I…I don't know," he said, shaking his head with a deep frown, "I…I just remember-"

He cut-off. No. He didn't remember, he didn't remember what happened after he came in the room with Colette. Nothing. It was a complete blank….

"…Nothing," he voiced, staring dumbly at nothing, "I…I don't remember…"

Theories went about. Cruxis? No, how could it be Cruxis? If it was, they would have taken Colette, but she was still here. The Renegades? Again, they wanted Colette dead and would have taken Lloyd. Who would want to put on exsphere on Lloyd then? Desians? But even then, they only wanted the stone, they would've killed him and taken off with it. Nothing made sense and the fact Lloyd couldn't remember a thing was startling as well. The brunette merely sat there in silence, desperately trying to claw through his memories to discover what had happened while the group talked. The conversation went nowhere, however, so they decided to focus on the matter at hand.

"All right, I guess the only thing to do for now is to put a key-crest on it…" Raine frowned, eying the gem on his neck. "It's dangerous to just leave it, but we shouldn't do anything other than that…"

"B- Besides, if we do that, it won't matter if it got attached to you like that, right?" Genis asked. "It'll work like it always did."

"Y…Yeah…" Lloyd trailed frowning deeply, "I…I guess I can modify my key-crest to fit over it…that should work, I think. It's just…this…this is all really-"

"Weird?" Zelos raised an eyebrow. "Oh good, I was worried this kind of thing was normal by you guys' standards."

And things calmed down. Lloyd modified the key-crest without any hassle, setting it on the exsphere, and being at a dead-end they had no choice but to go about their business. Of course, they were wary, still unsure of what had happened and why. In time though, the worries about that matter were pushed aside. Lloyd was fighting as well as usual, he was feeling no ill-effects, not strange afflictions of any kind. So they let it go, as much as one could let something like that go. Raine examined him frequently, every day almost, and then as time went on maybe once every other week, eying the gem with an air of skepticism. They couldn't account for the color change, but she assumed the markings to be effects of the exsphere making contact with his skin. They disappeared shortly after placing the crest, thus she came to conclude that was in fact what it was. While they all still were worried about the whole predicament, no harm had came from it, so they paid little attention to it in light of everything else that had happened. In fact, they had almost even forgotten about it by the time they settled into camp one night almost a couple of months later, having defeated Sylph that day. One more broken link, one step closer to saving the world.

Lloyd sat staring at the fire, having been selected for nightwatch. The brunette tiredly scanned the area before letting out a loud yawn, stretching his arms over his head. It was a dull night, unluckily- or luckily, depending on the person you asked- and Lloyd was bored. Determined to find something to occupy himself, he unbuttoned his jacket, pulling down the undershirt to try to examine the exsphere. This was something he had developed somewhat of a habit of doing, truth be told. Whenever he was alone, he found himself fidgeting with the stone attached to his collar, getting lost in his uneasy thoughts and emotions. Eventually he would find a mirror or some reflective surface so he could see it, as it was rather difficult to see if place on one's collar. He did so here, hesitantly taking out a mirror Raine had asked him to carry for her out so he could see the stone. It still looked fine, the crest was fit on it, and it merely appeared how an exsphere would appear. That didn't ease him any. Like every time he looked at the gem, this nagging feeling twisted in his gut. Why couldn't he remember how this happened? How had this happened? Then there was an even worse feeling…a dark, foreign feeling; his instincts shouting at him that something was wrong. With a sigh he gently prodded the stone, biting his lip. Something was-

Crack.

His eyes widened, immediately jerking his head down the best he could to see the key-crest. There was a large crack in the object, which alone shocked Lloyd. That wasn't good…how had that happened? He would have to fix it-

Two more cracks suddenly jerked through the stone, for seemingly no reason.

"What the-!?" he gasped.

Before he could say anything else the crest simply shattered. Shattered like glass into a million specs of dust, leaving absolutely nothing left of what it had been.

_At last._

"Wh-?!"

Lloyd gasped, remembering the last time this sensation had occurred…when the exsphere attached to him, after Colette's crystal had… Oh goddess.

He tried to scream but his voice failed him, finding himself collapsing onto the ground as he clutched the burning stone in his skin. Not a sound would escape him aside from a strained choking, his face scrunched up in pain. The brown markings from before began to creep out from his exsphere, painting themselves up his neck, across his shoulders, down his chest, just as they did the first time. He lay there on the ground as he felt some sort of…change, overcoming him. His thrashing turned into a bout of wincing and sweating, his skin paling as his chest heaved in a desperate attempt for breath. The stone cooled, the burning sensation weakening…though it didn't stop completely, it became warm. A comforting warmth, even, like one would feel sitting before a fire on a chilly night. Slowly he stabilized; his breathing normalizing as his body relaxed. He panted on the ground, feeling the grass beneath his cheek and the cool night breeze sliding against his exposed flesh. The warm feeling seemed all the more comforting against the cold of the ground, Strange…wasn't an exsphere supposed to make you feel…empty? Weak? This…didn't seem like that. It seemed just- well, comforting. As if he was a child again and his mother- though he couldn't remember her clearly- had just wrapped him in her arms, protecting him from the rest of the world. Why did the exsphere feel so…nice? It didn't feel bad at all, it didn't feel like it was draining his energy or anything. Quite the contrary, it felt as if the stone was giving him even more strength than usual, like that faint comforting feeling he'd gotten using it was amplified by a million times.

"What…is…this….?" he whispered faintly, slowly placing his hand over the gem.

He closed his eyes again, like one taking in a deep breath of some sweet, soothing aroma. The expression of one soaking something in, trying to focus on a sensation…which was indeed amazingly warm, invigorating. When he opened his eyes it was like seeing the world for the first time. All the shapes were more defined, the colors more vibrant, every last detail was vivid and clear…even in the dark. That fuzzy, foggy feeling one got in their vision when tired- or slightly even the majority of the time- was just…gone. As a matter of fact, he didn't feel tired anymore. He felt...pumped, full of energy, like every cell in his body was just raring to get up and go. He opened his eyes and blinked a little, somewhat stunned. His head throbbed and he brought his hands up to clutch it, still curled on the ground. After a minute the pain subsided and he sluggishly sat up, groaning a bit.

"Man…what is the deal with all this?" he muttered.

He caught sight of something moving out of the corner of his eye, what appeared to be the arm of a rather robust man. Instinctively he jerked his head around, expecting to see Regal, honestly, before he realized that didn't make sense because one, it was too close, and two, it wasn't as large as Regal's- He froze. Shakily he brought his arm into sight before him, his jaw dropping. Now, Lloyd was a physically fit boy, that was part of the situation, however, that he was still a boy. He had muscles of course, a warrior must, but they weren't that defined because of his age. That had changed. A noticeably more muscular arm was before him, defined muscle and bone taking place of the still rather skinny appendage he had had. He gasped, looking at the other one in turn, finding it was the same, in fact, it appeared it was the same for all of him. Half-reluctantly and half in a hurry, he pulled off his undershirt, his jaw dropping even lower.

His torso had enhanced as well, the muscles that had already been visible were more defined, and he had developed visible- er, the Professor called them 'pecktoralls' or something, right? Zelos called them 'pecs', he believed, when talking to Regal. Yeah, that. Lloyd blushed to the tips of his ears, staring a bit before hastily pulling his shirt back on in embarrassment. It was still visible the change in his body, however, with just that shirt, but his jacket should hide it well enough. He was noticeably more toned, but it wasn't _too_ major a change, just enough to be alarming…. As long as he kept his jacket on, it shouldn't be noticeable unless one was looking hard...

"This is… Did… Did the exsphere do this…?" he muttered, gingerly fingering the gleaming, warm gem.

None of this made sense. Exspheres that attached directly to you were bad for you, they turned you into a monster after weakening you, after sucking the life out of you. This was all wrong, he should tell the Professor, something was really, really wrong here-

The exsphere gave another surge of warmth, filling his entire being with a wonderful, relaxing feeling. He let out a sigh of contentment, a small smile flitting onto his face.

Well…okay, it didn't feel bad, right? It obviously wasn't doing anything bad to him either…so…so maybe he should just not say anything. Why worry them, right? But still- No. Okay, he'd keep it a secret, but he'd speak up if anything bad started happening. With a nod he sealed the deal with himself; okay, that's what he would do. He wasn't sure what was happening, no, but it couldn't be that bad, right…? He'd grab a key-crest the next time he could, then he could try to replace it, just to be safe…but until then, he didn't seem to have to worry….

With that he slipped on his red jacket, trying to ignore the markings that had spread on his skin. They bothered him a little, but…

The stone felt warm against his body where the cool fabric touched and he decided to overlook it for now, just as long as nothing started hurting or something.

Covered up, he couldn't see that the marks were beginning to glow a faint red color.

**Thus it begins…. And no, this isn't a Growth Spurt rip, there will be more important 'changes' in little Lloydie which have nothing to do with age….eheheheheh…**

**Chapter title is Swedish. For what, you can use google translator. :D**

**Review? O.o'**


	3. Aisling

**Yes yes, I said Lloyd Aurion was the focus story, and I promised I'd update LoK…**

**After this? n.n'**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Aisling**

"Hyah!"

There was a whistle that met his ears as the blade cut through nothing, creating a brief vacuum behind it as it sped through the air. Then it was followed by another, then another, then another as he continued to rapidly slice through imaginary foes. He hadn't been able to sit still, hadn't been able to just continue his duty after…whatever had happened. He was so full of energy, he was so pumped! It felt like every last atom of his body was electrified, giving off massive, unending amounts of energy that just spread through him like wildfire. So he merely stood off to the side a bit, near enough where he could watch camp, and got some practicing. It was strange how he wasn't tired anymore, and even moreso was the fact he wasn't…hurting, anymore. The aches one gets through physical exercise, the wounds he had received during the fights…they were all…gone. Just gone. He felt great! It was like waking up after a good night's sleep, completely alert, the world genuinely clear, real, and as if he was a toddler that just got into a cookie jar. But even then, he wasn't hyper so much…he was just…he couldn't really explain it. It was just- he had been doing this for at least a couple of hours now, and he wasn't the least bit tired! At all! Every swing, every movement…it felt like nothing! It was as easy as breathing- easier! As if absolutely anything he willed his body to do, simply happened, as if he hadn't done it at all.

Now, it wasn't as if he was numb, it wasn't as if he felt like he was merely watching something else other than his own limbs moving, he felt everything. Felt his muscles flex, his pulse beat, his lungs contract and relax, but it all felt good, it all felt just…just amazing! Like he could do anything, like he could take on anything in the world, and it hadn't dwindled at all, it had just been one unending rush of…of…

"Lloyd? What are you doing training so early?"

He swung around, barely catching himself from slicing the one who had alarmed him in half. Regal stood there, frowning his usual frown, examining the boy warily.

"Uh…H- Hi, Regal, what are you doing up? Is something wrong?" he chuckled nervously, sliding his swords into their sheathes.

"It's sunrise, I'm always up at sunrise," he stated.

"You are?" he blinked.

"Yes, I believe I mentioned to you once that I do early morning exercises?" the man said. "You were rather put off at the idea of doing so much 'work' so early, I believe."

"Was I?" he frowned. "Er…well…I just felt like it."

"Were you not up most of the night? You took night-watch at midnight, I believe."

"Well….Yeah, but I did sleep a bit earlier, I'm fine," he said.

The man merely raised an eyebrow at him, his eyes narrowed with suspicion as he looked the teenager up and down. With a sigh he shook his head, gesturing back to the others.

"Well, I'll take over from here, get a couple hours of sleep in," he said.

"But-" he started, "I mean, yeah, all right."

He nodded and walked to back into the camp, frowning as soon as he was sure Regal couldn't see. He wasn't tired, he didn't want to go to sleep….he had too much energy to just lay down! Really, sleeping was such a waste of time! He could be doing so many other things, things that were…he didn't know, doing something! But if he tried to argue with Regal, he would just get more suspicious…they might even ask to look at the exsphere. He couldn't let that happen- er, that was, he didn't really want that to happen. A twinge of some hot emotion ran through him at the thought, the thought that they would try to do something to his exsphere, to take away this…whatever it was, this amazing, incredible state of being. He let out a sigh of content as he sat on the ground, not that he was tired at all, but something in him was completely content just…being. Just existing, it felt as if….ah, he couldn't find the words. Slowly he closed his eyes, trying to lose himself in the feeling-

Then jerked them back open, letting out a short gasp of breath.

What was that?

He closed his eyes again, hoping it would happen once more.

Nothing.

He opened his eyes and bit his lip, his eyes narrowed. When he had closed his eyes like that he saw…something, someone? Yes…yes, it was a person. He couldn't tell if it was a man or woman, it was a bit…blurry, he couldn't quite make out the details, but it was a person…made of light? No, it wasn't made of light, that was just all he could see of it. How…irritating. It felt like he…knew, whoever that was.

He shook his head.

Ah, what was he going on about? Seriously, he had just imagined something, so what? Why was he reading that much into it? Feh, well…whatever. He sighed and lay down on his bedding, closing his eyes. If he didn't at least try to sleep, Regal'd be on his case again- though that wasn't so much the problem as it was if he told Raine, then he'd have her nagging him all day. Not to mention Colette would worry…. So he closed his eyes, trying to ignore the fact that his entire body was buzzing with energy, trying to ignore the nagging feeling in his gut that kept bringing his thoughts to whatever it was that he had 'seen'.

He managed to close his eyes, managed to calm his body, managed to fall into the depths of sleep…

But then came the dreams.

It was chaos.

A blur of shapes, colors, movement, flashes of steel and blasts of magic where being thrown at him from every direction. He wove in and out of the attacks with fluid grace, he was sure he did not possess, but nonetheless he did so. He felt his mouth curl up in a snarl, his pulse pounding in his ears as a red-hot, boiling sensation rose in him. Rage. These…rats! How dare they assault him! How dare they think they could even speak to him, nonetheless attack him! He felt a surge of some…energy, behind him, whirling his head around. A blond male in white, a glyph beneath his feet as a spell surged forth. He leapt forward and knocked him to the ground with his fist, turning a second later to catch a large double bladed weapon in his hands. The green eyes of the holder went wide as he slammed the attacker into the ground along with the blond male. Another surge of energy drew his attention like a loud crash, crossing what seemed to be a long distance in seconds to attempt to knock the female caster down.

Then everything slowed.

The woman's eyes widened, his fist closed in, inches from pulverizing the green-haired caster-

And then he choked, a length of red metal sticking through his chest.

It pulled out of him harshly, his breathing strained as he turned to look at the one who had wounded him.

Wine eyes looked back in a piercing glare.

Then there was a burst of pain.

And then…

"Ah!"

"Lloyd!?"

He groaned, clutching his head as he heard his friends clamber around him, concerned gazes fixated on their leader. Lloyd moaned a bit, slowly relaxing his body as he straightened from his slouched position, rubbing his forehead.

"S…Sorry," he muttered, "I just had a nightmare…that's all."

"Well, geez!" Zelos scoffed loudly. "Give us a heart attack why don't ya!? Screaming like that…"

"You worried us," Colette bit her lip, wringing her hands as she did so.

"Sorry," Lloyd sighed, then forced a smile, "I'm okay, though, didn't mean to scare you guys."

"What did you dream about?" Sheena frowned. "It sounded like it really freaked you out."

"I dreamt I was fighting someone," he frowned as well, "and I died…just a nightmare, sorry to wake you up."

"We were awake anyway," Raine scoffed, hands on her hips, "You overslept again! I know you had night-watch last night, but still…"

He overslept?

He looked up and around, noting the sun was already a good ways into the sky. With a rushed apology he got to his feet, fearing his teacher may 'discipline' him for that. Well, at least he had gotten some sleep, he was surprised seeing as how he had been so energetic that night- morning. Oh well, he felt…normal, again, actually. It surprised him, but he was actually pretty disappointed. Whatever that was, it had been so…great, so nice… That warm feeling…like there was a bright light within him… He closed his eyes-

And then jerked them open when the figure appeared again.

Suddenly, he wasn't as at peace as he had been….

**Yes yes, I know it's short, but I thought I should end it here **** Sorry, chapters will get longer eventually… Title is Celtic. **

**Now to go write LOK and LA…DX Lol n.n'**

**Review maybes?**


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